Lark Theater board apologizes to teen sex documentary filmmaker

The Lark Theater has apologized to a 24-year-old filmmaker and scheduled her documentary on teen pregnancy and the abstinence-only movement for a screening next month after theater officials pulled the film last week because of two board members' objections.

In a statement posted on Facebook over the weekend, board member Chris Albinson apologized for the "terrible mistakes" that led to cancellation of Marin filmmaker Cassie Jaye's "Daddy I Do" from its originally scheduled screening Wednesday. Albinson also announced he has taken over the board chairman post from Christina McArthur.

"Even with the best of intentions, volunteers who serve on non-profit boards do not always have clear separation between their personal views and their role as directors," the statement said. "The board will be reviewing its governance structure and entering into a non-profit training program on roles and responsibilities."

Despite the apology, details of the flap remained murky Monday with no clear explanation of why board members objected to the film in the first place.

In October, Lark Executive Director Bernice Baeza contacted Jaye and set up Wednesday's screening, which the theater promoted on its website, newsletters, posters and print advertisements. The film, which has won audience and best-documentary awards at several film festivals in the United States and Europe, examines the success rates of abstinence-only programs versus comprehensive sex education in lowering teen pregnancy.

On Nov. 7, Baeza told Jaye the Lark would no longer officially support the film but offered to let her rent out the theater for an independent screening, both women said last week. Jaye declined, not wanting to screen the movie without the Lark's support.

Baeza only gave a "vague" explanation for the abrupt change of heart, saying two board members found the film "irrelevant" and having "no educational value to Marin," Jaye said.

"They were very vague and their story throughout the week kept on changing as to what the issue was," she added. "The two board members who posed their objections probably had a lot of power in the theater and were overstepping their bounds. I think Bernice felt intimidated."

Jaye received more than 100 supportive e-mails and Facebook comments after she posted a video about the canceled screening and an article appeared in Friday's Independent Journal. On Friday evening, the Lark board held an emergency meeting and unanimously decided to reorganize its structure and apologize to Jaye, Albinson said.

"I don't think there was anything in the film that was objectionable -- it was just a big communication snafu," Albinson said Monday. "It shouldn't have come up because it's not the board's role to get involved in programming."

He said the two board members voiced concerns not about the film's content but its inclusion in an educational series focused on academic pressure on children, Albinson said. The series included the films "Waiting for Superman," "Race to Nowhere" and a talk by Stanford University lecturer Denise Pope, he said.

Albinson declined to identify the two board members who objected, saying, "some very, very harsh things have been said to the point where I genuinely fear for people's safety."

"What they did do is they overstepped their role as board members -- that should not have happened," he added, noting that the board will go through a training program and review its governance structure, probably early next year.

Baeza declined to comment Monday through a spokeswoman and referred all questions to Albinson.

Jaye said she decided to accept the apology and screen her film on Dec. 8 because "if people are willing to admit to their mistakes and make changes for the better, then you have to recognize that and honor that."